


Wish I Knew You

by AdriYay



Category: IT (1990), IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Future Fic, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Wish I Knew You by The Revivalists, lovers to strangers, that's a new one huh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 07:18:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14971949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdriYay/pseuds/AdriYay
Summary: Richie and Eddie meet one fateful day. They fall perfectly together, it seems as if they had met before.Or How Eddie and Richie fall in love as adults only to come back to Derry and remember how they fell in love as teenagers.





	1. Two strangers in the bright lights

**Author's Note:**

> I actually love this idea and I suggested the prompt to some fic writers. Needless to say, they ignored it. So, when I couldn't take the thought of this idea never being turned into an actual fic, I decided to write it myself. I hope it's good, I put a lot of thought and my heart into this, it's like my baby. If there's any constructive criticism, I'm up for it, but please don't be mean. 
> 
> Title taken from the song Wish I Knew You by The Revivalists. Lovely song that always makes me think of this particular ship.

The first time Eddie saw Richie, he was a little bit annoyed by the redhead making loud weird noises in the dairy aisle. He noticed he was with another person, making them laugh like there was no tomorrow, but he didn’t find what the man was doing funny at all.

 

Ok, he might have let a small smile escape, so what? It was still annoying.

 

He decided to keep going with the shopping. He just wanted to get home, call his mom, tell her he was alright, and sleep until he had to go to work the following day. He even felt a headache coming, damn it.

 

But he suddenly wanted to see what books there were, heck, he had been wanting to read something interesting for a while. And just as he grabbed a book to read the summary on the back of it, the guy with a mustache bumped into his shoulder.

 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going.” Eddie snapped, the headache definitely starting to make itself known.

 

“Woah, I’m sorry. No need to get so bothered, cute stuff.”

 

“Yeah, if only you could stop being annoying.”

 

“Aww, come on! I can be pretty cool!”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“Let me take you to dinner and I’ll show you how definitely not annoying I actually am”

 

“...What?”

  


 

And that’s how their relationship started. Eddie couldn’t control his brain at that moment and he ended up blushing and stuttering, his words tumbling out and not making any sense. After a few seconds, he ended up just closing his mouth, nodding and, with wide eyes, writing his number down on the guy’s arm with black marker.

 

They went on their first date, Richie picked him up at his place with a bouquet of beautiful pink flowers that would fit his home just right. Eddie wore a blue sweater and light brown pants; he let his hair go free of gel, thinking maybe the guy would like his curls but regretting it the minute he opened the door. Richie was wearing a brown jacket over a white shirt and some black pants. He looked really good; Eddie’s mind betrayed him before he could stop himself, and he let out a small “wow”, making Richie laugh and tell him he looked _really good himself_ in a weird voice that confused Eddie. Apparently, it was showing on his face, because Richie caught himself.

 

“I make voices, you know, for a living.”

 

“What kind of person makes voices for a living?”

“A really funny person, may I say.”

 

Eddie chuckled, even though what Richie said hadn’t actually been funny. Damn him.

 

Richie took him to a small restaurant, which was not really fancy at all but which was perfect for how their dynamic had become. They just clicked together, like they had been best friends in their past lives or like they had known each other before.

 

Their relationship evolved throughout the passing weeks and months, and sometimes Eddie would catch himself thinking of a young Richie, how he would’ve looked like. He sometimes saw that boy inside Richie, and it wasn’t that difficult given to his hilarious and tiny bit childish personality, but he didn’t know why he kept seeing it.

 

Sometimes he would wake up beside Richie, on soft afternoons spent watching movies and eating popcorn while making jokes and sarcastic remarks; he would look up at his boyfriend’s ( _god, that sounds like we’re teenagers_ ) face and feel the sense of déjà vu. Like he’d lived this before. He would suddenly hear laughs and the sound of soft pecks, like the ghost of a past he never lived. A past he couldn’t have lived, that wasn’t possible.

 

Months went by, then years, and by the time they knew it, they were already married. Don’t ask Richie because he wouldn’t admit how he cried when he saw Eddie kneel down after giving him a kiss in the book aisle over at the supermarket in one of their shopping traditions; he wouldn’t admit how he felt like an old promise was finally being fulfilled and how he felt like the luckiest person in the world. Eddie, on the other hand, would like to tell how Richie was speechless for a few seconds and how he nodded and screamed yes like a maniac when he’d finally understood what was happening. But he wouldn’t tell either how he had been freaking out the previous weeks wondering if it was a good idea to do it and where to do it and what if Richie said no, but he was so glad he got through all of that.

 

They got married and they had a small reception, just how they both wanted it. It was perfect, absolutely amazing, and Eddie couldn’t believe it was finally happening. After so much time thinking he was going to end up alone, he finally found the one person he loved more than anything in the world, the one person he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. God, he _loved_ Richie.

 

He felt as though it was probably their destiny to meet when they were younger, so they could’ve grown and spent so much more time together.

 

“God, I wish I knew you when I was young,” Eddie would sometimes softly tell Richie while brushing some of his curls away from his face to look into those beautiful eyes Eddie had grown to deeply adore.

 

“Maybe you did know me,” Richie had replied once, and they had stared at each other for a few seconds with wide eyes, like their brains were trying to find the right connections and the right places where the information could be. Maybe there was nothing, they didn’t find anything. So they just blinked and laughed it off.


	2. You're everything beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small moments.

Richie gasped sharply as he felt his hands getting hurt by the surface of the tree he was currently climbing. He cursed quietly and continued trying to get to the top branch, which was right next to Eddie’s window. As he got there, he glanced into the room and saw that the lights were off except for a small blush pink lamp that was placed next to the bed. He noticed that Eddie was lying face up on the mattress with his hands under his head, dressed in his soft pajamas. He looked like he was trying to stop himself from fidgeting while waiting for Richie to get there; his right foot kept jumping. 

 

Richie let out a small smile while looking at the small boy, and decided to make him wait no more. Before he knew it, he had climbed onto the roof and had startled Eddie from some deep thoughts he could’ve been having. As soon as Eddie turned to look at Richie, he smiled brightly and got up quickly to open the window. “Finally,” the small boy said, “What took you so long?”

 

“Eh, who cares. What matters is that I’m here, right, babe?” Richie replied. Eddie just nodded and smiled up at him for the second time that night. God, Richie just  _ loved  _ that smile. Everything about his boyfriend made his stomach flutter and his mind scramble for words to explain why he always got so distracted around the little guy. 

 

“Rich! What the hell happened to your hands?” Eddie gasped as he helped Richie into the bedroom by holding his hands to give him some support, “I think they’re bleeding a little bit!”

 

“That, they are, my love. Your tree has become aggressive, you should start training it.”

 

“Oh no, I’m so sorry. Let me clean it up.”

 

So Richie sat on Eddie’s bed, waiting for his boyfriend to come back after he left the room in a rush to go to the bathroom, the place where his stack of medicine and first aid kits was. That boy could be the death of him, with his caring eyes and the adorable panic he went into when he found out someone had been hurt. 

 

They were only 15, but he had never been so in love, and he was thankful for that. Eddie being his first (and hopefully only) love was a thought that always made him smile like a madman. It felt like they were meant to be together, the way their oh so different personalities just fit together in a point that awed everyone around them. If you saw them near each other, you wouldn’t even think they could be friends, but they suffered long enough before they confessed their feelings for each other. Richie still smiles remembering how a few months prior he had been extremely nervous about telling Eddie about his feelings. What if he was grossed out? What if he lost Eddie’s friendship forever? What if Eddie told everyone and he lost all of his friends forever? Beverly already knew about Richie’s crush on Eddie, and she completely approved- even encouraged Richie to be closer to the boy. So he knew she wouldn’t leave him and would fight anyone who ever dared try and bully him, but his mind still rushed to tell him that everything was possible and that he couldn’t know what Beverly would do once everyone knew. 

 

But he did it either way, and it was really random, too. He had been trying to say “I have a crush on you, please go out with me?” to his beautiful friend for a few weeks, and he just couldn’t find the right way to do so. He had laid in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, calming down his anxiety as he thought of the best possible scenarios with a level of romance that was off the charts. 

 

Sadly, none of those scenarios came true. It happened when they were out buying candy. They had been walking through Mr.Keene’s shop looking for something good to eat, something they could afford and that everyone liked. At the time, the members of the Loser’s club had been down in the Barrens and had gotten bored, so they had sent Richie and Eddie for snacks after they gathered the money they all had.

 

But something happened in the store. Richie was looking up into the candy aisle and he suddenly heard Eddie gasp and start cheering. He turned to look at him and saw him dancing with a pack of candy in his hands. Richie was mesmerized by the way the small boy moved and how absolutely adorable it was for him to be so excited over a simple pack of candy. His eyes were glistening and his smile was radiant, perfect on his face. He was entranced, and he didn’t even hear himself say anything, but he must have, because Eddie stopped his little dance and turned to look at him, his face full of shock and confusion.

 

“W-what?” Eddie had stuttered. 

 

“Huh?”

 

“What did you just say?”

 

“I didn’t say anything.”

 

“So you didn’t just ask me out?” Eddie was still blushing out of his mind, but he now had a tiny smirk playing on his lips. 

 

Richie’s eyes widened. He had said what? He had done  _ what _ ? “I-I don’t know.”

 

“Oh, well. That’s a shame,” and Eddie turned back to analyzing the candy bag, the smirk still plastered on his face as he shrugged. “You could’ve had a chance.”

 

“Wait!” 

 

Eddie didn’t even glance at Richie, “Hm?”

 

“What would you say if I…” 

 

“If you what?”

 

“You know…”

 

“Oh, Richie. As a matter of fact, I don’t.”

 

“IfIaksedoutoutonadate”

 

“Hm? What did you say?”

 

“If I,” Richie took in a large breath, “asked you to go out on a date with me.”

 

Eddie finally turned on his heel to stare at Richie with the most serious face he had ever seen. Richie felt his stomach start protesting everything it was being put through, and his heart was racing so fast he thought he was going to have a heart attack. Those few seconds in which Eddie didn’t answer had been the tensest moments ever, he felt a bit sick, his mind was starting to cloud, he could hear his heartbeat and he felt the world spinning around him. He prayed it would end soon, and it did. Eddie’s eyes scrunched up as the corners of his mouth turned upwards in the most dazzling smile Richie had ever seen. 

 

“I would say yes, please and thank you.”

  
  


And that’s how they got together. Richie couldn’t for the life of his remember what exactly he had said to distract Eddie from his dance, but he was happy his mind had betrayed him. They ended up going on a date, then two, then three, and they just stopped counting after thirteen. 

 

So Richie smiled and his chest flutter at the memory, his eyes staring down at the floor while he continued waiting for Eddie to come back. As soon as he did, he knelt down next to Richie and took one of his hands in his, then started patting some wet cotton over his wounded palm. He proceeded to clean the other one and as soon as he was done, he got back on his feet, threw away the cotton, and kissed Richie’s forehead. “Please be careful next time.”

 

“No can do, Eddie-bear.” Eddie glared at him. “Uh, yes can do, Eddie-bear,” Richie corrected himself. He then took off his shoes and laid back on the pillows behind him. He opened his arms in an inviting manner and pouted as Eddie’s eyes just bore into his in a soft glare. “Come on, Spaguetti, you know you want my cuddles.”

 

Eddie couldn’t stop himself from smiling anymore and he climbed onto the bed to lay his head against his boyfriend’s chest. Richie wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, one arm resting on his shoulders and the other one hugging his lean waist. He sighed out of happiness, leaned his cheek on the soft mop of hair, and said “I love you, Eddie.”

 

Eddie glanced up at Richie, making eye contact as he felt the warmth of Richie’s words wash all over him. He was in love, he was sure. He couldn’t love anyone else as much as he loved this boy. “I know” he replied before pressing a gentle kiss on Richie’s lips. His boyfriend laughed against his lips, into the kiss, and that made Eddie part away and chuckle quietly beside him.

 

“I can’t believe you just Han Solo-d me. I hate you.” Richie said with the most affectionate voice tone ever and then continued on where he left off, kissing his boyfriend senseless.


End file.
